Jerome “Jerry” Garcia left this earthly existence 24 years ago today on August 9th, 1995. Garcia’s humble presence in the wild world of rock and roll legends was well established by the time the Grateful Dead entered the final chapter of their career heading into the 1990s, but his unarguable role as both the psychedelic strongman and soothing voice to a generation which likely left home for the open road a little too early in life lifted him to the status of cultural icon and an inspiration of kindness to millions.
As fans and friends remember Garcia’s life and legacy on the 24th anniversary of his passing, some took to social media to share their thoughts and memories of the late guitarist, whose music continues to inspire many even a quarter-century after his death.
“Every Deadhead remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news that Jerry Garcia died,” Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann shared in an honest tribute to his former bandmate on Instagram on Friday. “As I looked out at the cold, vast ocean from the relative safety of the Mendocino bluffs, I thought, ‘Fuck. I’ve got to do something. I can’t just sit here, sobbing like this.’ I put on my wet suit, grabbed my surfboard, and went to battle the unmerciful Pacific Ocean–fierce by nature, unforgiving my force, unfuckwithable in every way. The ocean didn’t give a damn that Jerry just died. It was also the one place besides the middle of a Grateful Dead jam where I could feel the arms of the universe wrap themselves around me and tell me that everything was fine exactly the way it was. The waves come and crash over you regardless. You can ride, float or drown. It’s that simple.”
Dead archivist David Lemieux shared to his Twitter, “24 years ago today Jerry Garcia passed away. I don’t think a day has gone by in those 24 years that I’ve not heard his music.”
Counterculture-era musician and friend of Garcia, Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane shared to her own memories via Twitter, saying “[Jerry Garcia] was someone who was smart, who listened when you talked, and who was interested in a lot of different things.”
Tom Hamilton, who usually sings the Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia Dead tunes in Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, also shared personal thoughts on what Garcia and the Dead meant to him as a young musician in stating, “I wasn’t shocked or grief ridden like [my girlfriend] was. He lived on his terms, followed his road, and it happened to have ended where it did. His voice was a part of my life since before my earliest moments. It was what it was, and it what it is … It was never about drugs, or hippies, or jamming. it wasn’t about avoiding the real world by following a band around, or memorizing stats like they were a baseball team. it was the songs. The guitar playing, and the voice. The message of love, culture, art, and a life worth living.”
Jerry may no longer be alive in this incarnation, but his voice continues to come through the music, where it remains for fans to hold it near as if it were their own.